We have all been there at some point, staring at the TV late at night. It is 11:00 PM, you are tired, and suddenly a charismatic pitchman is screaming at you about a revolutionary sponge or a pan that can cook an egg without butter. The infomercial is an art form designed to bypass your logical brain and hit your impulse-buy button hard. They promise to solve problems you didn’t even know you had, offering solutions for $19.99 that seem too good to be true. Usually, these products end up in a landfill or a garage sale bin within months. But every once in a while, the hype is real.
Some of these gadgets are actually brilliant pieces of engineering that save time and frustration. I’ve sifted through the gimmicks to find the gold so you don’t have to waste your money. Here are 7 products that earn their keep, and 3 that are absolute trash.
